Gareth Evans of the International Crisis Group

Q: “You haven’t mentioned Afghanistan, and it looks like the Taleban is coming back strengthened and resuscitated by forces in Pakistan. What’s your solution for that problem?

Gareth Evans: Well it’s a two-fold solution. One is to get the act together in Afghanistan itself with the far more systematic and effective approach to governance and security. The other part of the answer is to be a lot tougher on Pakistan than the West … has wanted to be. There has been far too much willingness to take at face value the protestations of the support for the anti-Taleban cause and anti-extremist cause and not enough recognition that there are dynamics continuing to be at work within Pakistan that are giving a lot of aid and comfort to these forces.”